The Course of True Love
by everyday-deeds
Summary: It's always scary asking a parent for permission to date a girl, but when you've kidnapped the girl and now are threatening to blow a building on her father, then it gets a whole lot scarier. Contains insanity, AU, and slight MelloxSayu. One-shot


**Archive spamming for the win! This was born from one of my author notes in _Breaking The Fourth Wall_ where I bribed reviewers with the following scenario. I got enough requests that I wrote it, but I think most anyone should be able to follow this XD**

**Warning: Out of character and a little AU.**

**I don't own _Death Note_.**

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><p>"…for aught that I could ever read,<br>Could ever hear by tale or history,  
>The course of true love never did run smooth…"<br>-William Shakespeare, _A Midsummer Night's Dream_

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><p>Mello took a bite of his chocolate and stared at the monitor as Soichiro Yagami removed his helmet and crushed his camera under his foot. He felt himself growing nervous and mentally shook himself. He'd taken out Mafia members, dictated terms to a deranged killer who believed himself to be God, and most importantly had gotten one ahead of that little albino creep who was probably hiding somewhere in a fortress of Legos.<p>

So why did he feel so nervous at the thought of a asking a girl's parent for a date?

Of course, the reasons came to mind very quickly. He had kidnapped said girl and then threatened to kill her and forcibly thrown her father out on a remote desert island for the sake of the notebook. It became even more difficult when one considered that Mr. Yagami was a policeman, while he, Mello, was a Mafia member and leader. And the situation became even stickier when one considered that the girl in question had an older brother whose murder weapon consisting of nothing more than pen or paper.

Not to mention the setting- a broken-down Mafia hideout in a seedy part of Los Angeles rigged with explosives- was hardly one conducive to make a good impression on Mr. Yagami. Mello swore around his chocolate, wondering how this conversation was going to play out. He had a feeling it wouldn't end well, but this was Sayu he was thinking about, and annoying as it was, he did very badly want to see the girl again, even if all she did was slap him into the middle of next year. It would have felt much better of a send-off than what he had given her by tossing her on a desert island with one of his Mafia henchman. At least this way she would be exacting revenge herself.

And since he clearly had already lost the notebook and was going to have to blow the building to bits in a few moments anyway, what did he have to lose by asking Mr. Yagami if his daughter was single? Other than his dignity, of course.

Mello practically slammed his head against the monitor as he watched Mr. Yagami step up to the door. He was starting to regret taking his best friend's advice that since Mr. Yagami was old-fashioned, Mello's chances with Sayu would improve if he did things 'properly' and asked her father about dating her. Right now, with armed policemen outside the door and explosives everywhere, he was starting to wonder if Matt had even been paying attention to the girl's name when Mello had called to ask for his help.

Straightening his shoulders, Mello pressed a button on the keyboard and spun to face the door. He saw Mr. Yagami blink twice before stepping forward, and wondered with annoyance what it was about him that made every older male stare at him as though he was a circus performer. Then again tight black leather pants and a shirt that would have come from an advertisement in some of America's cheaper female clothing lines wasn't the most normal outfit for a Mafia member. But it wasn't as though Mello could help it if none of the other thugs had dress sense.

He forced himself back to the matter at hand. Mr. Yagami was clearly waiting for him to say something, but Mello was having a hard time concentrating. Sayu's face had popped into his head and now that he was face to face with her father, mentioning her at all seemed like a very bad idea. But he might as well finish what he had started.

But first he had to be quite clear that he had the upper hand, and brandished his remote control threateningly. "Mr. Yagami, don't try anything with the notebook. This entire building is rigged with explosives, and I'll blow the entire thing if you don't listen to me."

"Do you think I care about that?" Mr. Yagami asked coolly. His face was drawn. "You kidnapped my daughter and after this case, all I want to do is stop people like you."

Mello took a deep breath. Now came the tricky part. "About your daughter- is she all right?"

Mr. Yagami looked dumbfounded for a split second. "She's in therapy for shock right now, thanks to you. The doctors are saying she should make a recovery in a few weeks. Why are you asking?"

Only his huge bite of chocolate could have given Mello the courage to ask the question he did next. "Is she single?"

There was dead silence. Mr. Yagami was staring at Mello as though the young Mafia member had grown an extra head. At last the middle-aged policeman found his voice. "You're into women?"

Mello made a mental note to kill the next person who asked him that question. But before he had a chance to defend his interest in Sayu, Mr. Yagami was shouting, "If I catch you anywhere near my daughter, I'll blow your head off, guns or no guns in Japan!" The pen in his hand was trembling, and Mello was quick to press the button to detonate the explosives before Mr. Yagami remembered that he had a much more effective means of disposing of Mello.

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><p>Several days later Mello was walking the streets of Japan with a freshly scarred face hidden behind the roomy hood of his jacket. And in any case, the Amane girl was coming here in a few moments with Light, and since he had agreed to tail her, there was no reason for him not to come here. Well, save for the fact that he had blown up a building on Sayu's father. But he'd heard that Mr. Yagami had survived the blast. He knew better than to bring up Sayu, but it was possible that he might get to see the girl herself. It was hard for him to say what exactly it was about Sayu that he liked so much- it might have been the fact that the only time he'd talked to her, she'd coolly called him an idiot, and when pressed for clarification had said that since he had been smart enough to get her away from her home country without being caught, he should have been smart enough to see that the kidnapping wouldn't get him anywhere against Kira. Her smart response hadn't been what impressed him as much as the fact that she had recognized immediately what he was truly after-Kira's downfall.<p>

And he had to admit that she was very pretty.

Fortunately for him, as he walked past the Yagami home, he caught a glimpse of Sayu standing at one of the lower windows, and he halted to take as much of a look at her as he could. She looked worn, which was to be expected, but on the whole she had the appearance of someone who was recovering.

For a moment he halted in the road, watching as she leaned against the window frame, just visible against one of the white curtains. She appeared to talking to someone, which was always a good sign. Mello wondered for a moment if there was any way he could possibly talk to her. One thing he knew for certain, however- he was not asking Matt's advice about anything relating to Sayu ever again.

As he hesitated, he suddenly became aware that Sayu had turned more fully toward the window. Her eyes met his, and he thought he saw them widen, though it was hard to tell at such a distance. Then he almost took a step forward, for she was gesturing wildly with her hands. Then to Mello's horror, a face appeared beside Sayu's that Mello did not recognize. It vanished after a split second. Sayu's hands jerked to the right fiercely and Mello stared in complete bewilderment. The door was to the right of the window. Was it possible she had meant for him to come to the door?

Afterwards Mello told himself that as an ex-resident of Wammy's House, he should have known better than to walk through the small gate. He described the decision to walk up to the door of the house as a lapse of thinking when relating it to his friend later that night. Matt had described it as being blinded by love, and this description had earned the goggle-wearing gamer a sneaker in the mouth courtesy of Mello's surprisingly strong throwing skills.

But at the time Mello was sadly ignorant of what the aftermath of his decision would be, and all he could think was that Sayu actually wanted to see him. So he walked up to the door, forgetting all about the target he was supposed to be tailing, and about the fact that Light Yagami, the notorious killer he was supposed to be bringing down, was supposed to coming to this house with his scatterbrained girlfriend in a few moments. He strode up to the door and raised his hand to knock.

At the exact same instant, the door flew open to reveal a brunette woman with age lines curving around her eyes and mouth. Mello barely had time to register that this must be Sayu's mother before he had to dodge the frying pan which Sachiko Yagami was wielding in murderous manner. He felt the swoosh of the heavy cast-iron pan pass over his head, and clapped a hand to his hood to make sure it stayed in place. He turned to run, the frying pan struck his shoulders with a painful thud, and Mello found himself eating gravel at the foot of the porch steps. He rolled away as Sachiko sprang after him and scrambled to his feet, barely avoiding another swipe from the frying pan. As soon as he had his footing, he sprinted for the streets, crashing heavily into two figures who had passed through the gate. The smaller figure squealed and the taller one whirled out of the way, but the only thing on Mello's mind was avoiding the angry mother at his heels.

Several yards down the street, she was still pursuing him. "What do you think you're doing coming here?" she shrieked, and Mello could not help but be impressed by her capacity to shout while running at a dead sprint. "Get back here and I'll make sure that face of yours is black and blue, pretty boy!"

"Too late," Mello gasped over his shoulder. But she did not appear to hear him and he contented himself with running until he reached a crowded street. Dodging between two large men in business suits, he ducked into a corner store, ran out the entrance that opened onto the other street, ducked into an alley, and in short, did not stop running until he reached the hotel where he and Matt were staying. He could already feel a bruise forming on his shoulders, and slumped against the door. "Dammit," he croaked. "I just wanted to talk to her."

"To the Amane girl?" a skeptical voice asked from a worn armchair. "Mello, isn't the point of tailing someone to follow them _without_ their knowing you're following them?"

"Shut up, Matt."

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><p>Light took his coat off in the front hallway of the house, his brow furrowed. Making his way to the kitchen, he sat beside Misa on the sofa opposite Sayu, who was beside Soichiro on the other couch. His sister looked embarrassed and his father outraged. Light glanced from one to the other. It was rare that any situation was beyond his ability to explain, but the events he had just witnessed had well and truly stumped him. And as god-in-the-making, he did not enjoy being puzzled. He cleared his throat. "Dad, Sayu- I'm sure there's a good reason, but what the hell just happened? Why did we nearly just get run over by Mom and- and someone else, and why was Mom going after him with a frying pan?"<p>

Sayu sighed. "I think he just wanted to see me."

Misa stirred beside Light, looking eager. "Do you have a boyfriend, Sayu? Was that him?" she asked cheerfully.

To Light's amazement, his sister grinned a little. "He expressed interest. I don't think Dad approves, though."

"He's your kidnapper, Sayu!" Mr. Yagami snapped. "How do you expect me to approve?"

Light blinked. He had only caught a glimpse of tight leather leggings and a furry hood, and was now bitterly regretting that he had not caught a glimpse of the person's face. He probably would never get such a chance to dispose of Mello again. In an effort to mask his surprise, he asked the first question that came to mind. "That was a _man_ we passed just now?"

Sayu rolled her eyes, and Mr. Yagami met Light's eyes sympathetically. "I made the same mistake, son."

For a moment there was a very awkward silence. Then Light straightened up with a complacent air. "I bet Matsuda's looking a lot better as a prospective son-in-law; right, Dad?"

He was cut off by Sayu attempting to stuff a pillow down his throat.

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><p>It was a grey and miserable afternoon when Sayu was walking down the street to one of the smaller shops near her house. She shivered as the wind rattled through one of the pitiful sidewalk trees. The street was very nearly empty.<p>

Suddenly she felt a strange prickle of another presence that was very suddenly close behind her. She spun around and found herself confronted by a scarred face framed with blond hair.

For a moment the two of them stared at one another. At last Mello cleared his throat and tried to assume a commanding expression. But he had left it a little too late for Sayu to be impressed and she glared at him with all the intensity she could muster. "Well?" she snapped at last. "Why'd you come to my house? What were you thinking?"

"I had a reason to be there," he replied defensively. "And then when you gestured- well, I wanted to see what you wanted!"

"You thought I was telling you to come in? For someone who's a genius, you really don't have any common sense! Why'd I invite you into the house with my parents over?"

His lips twitched. "Does that mean that you'd invite me in if your parents weren't over?"

"Watch it, pretty boy," she growled.

"So that's where your mom got it from?"

"She called you that?"

"Right, never mind. You get it from her."

They were silent for a few seconds, Sayu steadily glaring at him the whole time. At least he seemed to realize that she was waiting for something. "What?" he asked.

"Oh, I don't know. You kidnapped me, smashed a building to smithereens on my father, and then showed up at my house without explanation. What do you think I'm waiting for?"

He rolled his eyes. "An apology."

Again they stared at one another. Sayu raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

"I'm sorry."

She blinked. "That was quick."

"Short and sweet. It's best that way."

She smiled without meaning to. "Yes, but it's not all. How about an explanation?"

From the way his face froze, she knew that wasn't going to happen. But then he surprised her by actually responding. "I came to your house because I wanted to see you. The rest you'll have to figure out."

She nodded. "Well- now you've seen me."

They stood awkwardly on the sidewalk for a few more seconds. Then Mello took a step back. "And I think that I won't see you again," he said harshly. "It was stupid of me to come."

"Short and sweet," she said dryly. Then before he could do anything to stop her, she stepped forward and kissed him lightly on his scarred cheek. "Goodbye."

She turned away, and he, after staring for a few more seconds, did the same.

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><p><strong>For the record, I'm a really horrible judge of humor that's not blatant parody, so I hope that didn't disappoint. Hope you all enjoyed it!<strong>


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